Friends
by Lou Buggins
Summary: Everyone needs a friend and Raven will do whatever it takes to keep hers. Set in the Young Justice Universe. Ships: BBRae, Supermartian "Few there are that will endure a true friend." - Henry George Bohn


**Summary: Everyone needs a friend and Raven will do whatever it takes to keep hers.**

 **Young Justice Universe**

 **Please leave a review!**

 **Ships: BBRae, Supermartian**

" _ **Few there are that will endure a true friend."**_ **\- Henry George Bohn**

* * *

It was supposed to be a simple mission. Stop the convoy before it reached its intended destination. She had help too, her team members - a Martian, a Kryptonian, and a Changeling. All of who far surpassed her in experience and skill. She was still very new to the team and the mastery of her powers was less than satisfactory, according to certain members of the team. She was inclined to believe them too. While she has made noticeable progress in learning to harness her emotions and make them work for her, rather than the other way around, she was still a novice compared to the young heroes she compared herself to.

But this was supposed to be simple. Though she supposed, nothing was ever simple.

"Beast Boy!"

M'gann's frightened shout rang through the forest and Raven's head snapped in the direction the sound came from. Though all she could see were trees that towered over her. She spun on her heels as her eyes desperately searched for the boy who owned the name. He was her teammate, but more importantly, he was her _friend_. Perhaps her only one. Not just on the team, but in her life. At least, he was the only one who trusted her, a compliment she couldn't even give herself.

She needed to find him. To land her eyes on him. She just needed to be sure he was safe. Even if he had taken a hit, she just wanted reassurance that he wasn't down. She had come to depend on this boy. He had rescued her from the hands of the evil men who wished to use her powers for great destruction. He had brought her into his home and allowed her the honor of calling it _hers_. He had introduced her to his friends and to his loved ones, and while they were still hesitant to accept her into their group, he never gave it a second thought. She didn't know why he was so trusting of her and when she had questioned it, he shrugged it off with nothing more than the mere obscure comment of "if you were a danger to me, I'd know."

She was half-inclined to call him a fool.

The truth of the matter was - she was dangerous. She was born into the world for one purpose and one alone...to open the door for demon warlord who would bring the end to this world. She was not meant to be stopping criminals and protecting the innocent alongside Earth's most beloved heroes in the name of justice. Yet here she was, doing just that. A privilege she owed to the boy who became her first and closest _friend_.

He was the reason she was even allowed on this mission. His instance that she was ready to handle the pressures of a real-life crime-fighting operation and his logical explanation of this situation being the perfect opportunity for her to put her skills to the test was enough to convince Kaldur'ahm (their leader) to give her permission to go. She herself had been hesitant. Unwilling to put the lives of her fellow teammates in jeopardy due to her inexperience, but the boy had been right about one thing.

" _Everyone has to start somewhere_."

She was naive enough to take that advice to heart. Now that their easy "stop the convoy" mission had been blown up into an ambush that had them separated and trapped in the dense rainforest of Venezuela, she began to regret ever listening to him. Her magical powers were not fit for short range combat and without the guidance of her superiors or the aid of her friend, she was completely alone.

Her fear began to take control as a group of men dressed all in black chased her through the forest with guns pointed at her head. She tried to turn and shoot out a stream of her obsidian magic, but all it did was hit a tree and sent it collapsing onto the ground. It was enough to slow them down, but not enough to get them off her trail.

" _Let me out!_ " A demonic voice growled in her mind. " _Let me kill them!_ "

The temptation to give in to the voice's command was strong during the heat of the moment, but she fought down her instinct to fight. A method she knew all too well. Instead of succumbing to her rageful side, she gave in to her fear and fled the scene by opening a portal and gliding through it.

The portal spit her out far enough away that she could safely catch her breath, but she apparently wasn't as far away from the danger as she would have liked. She was close enough to hear the alias of her friend being called out by his adoptive sister. Not through the telepathic link, but out in the open. Her eyes darted around the understory of the forest, searching in between the trees for the familiar, green-skinned boy. In a split second her head flung back as she searched the sky, some mysterious force she hadn't the time to stop and comprehend had fueled her actions. Sure enough, she saw a large, emerald eagle flying through the sky, but not in any natural way. Its wings were bound in a net and the force from whatever shot the said net had sent the bird falling in the opposite direction.

Without a thought, the demoness launched herself into the sky and flew straight for the projectile of feathers aiming for a nearby waterfall. She zig-zagged past the numerous trees that blocked her path, slowing her down by a second longer than she could afford. Leaves and tree limbs blurred together as she weaved her way through the forest as quickly as she was able to push herself. Her heart pounded against her chest and her breath quickened its pace.

She had to get to him, but she was running out of time. With each twist she had to make around a tree, his body came closer and closer to crashing into the forest floor. The voices of her teammates rang in her mind causing her head to throb, but she had to ignore their screams and wails. Her friend was plummeting to his death and if she took even a millisecond too long, he would be nothing but a pile of broken bones and plumage.

She had to make it.

She had to make it.

She had. To. Make it.

"Garfield!" She cried out as her body burst through the canopy and she flung her arm out, sending a stream of black fluid right at the unconscious body. The magic wrapped around his unmoving form, just inches above the matching green grass.

She stayed frozen in her spot above the ground, floating in the air just a few meters away from the knocked out bird of prey. She could still hear the voices in her head as they continued with their battle, but they faded into the background as the sound of her heart beating against her chest took the forefront of her hearing.

She simply stared at the bundle wrapped in her protective layer of magic. A dark glow illuminated from the animal, a maroon color blending with his jade features. As time came crashing back into her, she let out a gasp and gently lowered the body to the ground, laying it upon the soft grass. Once his body was safe on the Earth, she retracted her spell and floated over to him.

He was still trapped in the thick wires of the net, designed to let out an electric shock once activated. It must have been what had made him lose consciousness. Had it been a regular net, he would have easily changed his form into something capable of breaking it. That information didn't matter now though. She just needed to be sure he was still alive, then she would find a way to remove the netting.

Slowly, her body lowered itself to the ground, her blue boots crunching the grass below her. She bent down to her exposed knees and wiggled her fingers through the holes of the net. His feathers felt like silk though they were sturdy and hard to move. His large wings were blocking his chest, so she had to dig her fingers around strategically. She didn't want to cause him any more pain than he was already in, while simultaneously attempting to reach his chest to check for his heartbeat. When she finally reached the short fluff that covered his breasts, she let out a relieved sigh. His heart thumped against her touch in a sign of life.

" _He's alive."_ Her mind whispered in awe.

" _Who's alive Raven?"_ She heard a familiar feminine voice answer her thought.

" _Garfield-I mean, Beast Boy."_ She quickly corrected herself, remembering the rules they had in regards to maintaining everyone's secret identities while on the job. " _I found him. He's still in his bird form unconscious and tangled in the net that struck him, but otherwise, he appears stable."_

As she finished relaying her observations to M'gann, her fingers gently stroke circles around the plush, light green down. She had never come this close to a bird before. Despite her name, the masters of the sky rarely paid her much head and certainly never stopped their daily routines long enough for her to pet them. Though she had felt the odd feather here and there, feeling the softest part of a bird, in perhaps its most vulnerable spot, was truly a first for her. Like many of her experiences since she first met this carefree young man before her. Something else to note was how intimate the gesture felt, having her hand resting upon his beating heart. Feeling the heat beneath her palm and the slight rise of his breast bone with every beat. It made her feel just as exposed as he must have been, and yet she found the sensation oddly...comforting.

" _Thank goodness."_ M'gann sighed with relief evident in her voice. Through the telepathic link they shared, Raven could sense the Martian's anxiety wane ever so slightly. The special concern the woman had for the younger shape-shifter always stood out to the empath. It was not unlike the sense of responsibility she felt toward her teammates, but amplified to an unforeseeable degree.

" _Use your equipment to cut the net, then inform me when he's free and I'll use the link to hopefully wake him."_

The demoness agreed before slowly slipping her hand out of the net and reaching for the belt strapped around her hips. The Justice League had given her the belt to hold emergency equipment and some first-aid type products. She had refused the high-tech suit they had offered her, not wishing to wear such a bulky and restricting outfit, but they had insisted on the yellow belt. At least it had large, round crimson gems that gave it some appeal.

She tried to bite back the nagging "I told you so" feeling as she unclipped the small knife from the belt. She began to tremble as she brought the razor sharp blade close to his trapped form. She knew this was just a tool and that only in the wrong hands could it be made into a weapon, but she had never known such a tool to be used for anything other than violence. Bloodshed was everything she had been raised against. The monks of her homeland had preached peace above all else. Violence came from anger and anger fueled evil. So to escape from her demonic heritage, she had sworn off all forms of violent acts. Only until she had come to Earth, did she realize just how naive her attempt had been. Refusing to use her powers for destruction also kept her from using them for defense and she soon found herself captured by people who wanted to force out the demon within her. To use her as a weapon that would bring what she had stood against.

It was after she was rescued by Garfield and the others, that she had reached her great epiphany. Peace must be defended. Which is the new philosophy that had convinced her to join this young group of heroes. However, the feel of a weapon in her hand still felt foreign and strange.

"Just cut the wire." She mumbled under her breath as she used her free hand to grip the net and extend it, giving her plenty of room to slide the knife under it without accidentally cutting into her friend's flesh. She sucked in a deep breath, then in a quick and fluid motion, she sliced into the wire. She repeated the action multiple times until it created a big enough hole for the rest of the netting to lay around the bird. She checked over him one last time to make sure he was free of any external injuries, then carefully clipped the knife back on to her person.

" _He's free Miss Martian."_

As she gave the all clear, she could sense M'gann in his mind, no doubt stirring him back into consciousness. The sorceress sat down on the back of her legs as she waited patiently for something to happen, though she didn't know quite what. It only took a few moments before she watched his form change shape, his feathers melting into his jade skin and his talon growing into human feet until the bird completely vanished and all that was left was a boy.

He was lanky in build, but his muscles still showed through the tight fabric of his black and purple suit. His face was chiseled out, his shoulders were beginning to broaden, and chest was thick. All signs of his coming of age. His hair was shaved down from his sideburns to around the back of his neck, but the top still remained long and messy from the battle.

He laid still for a few heartbeats, with only the slight rise and fall of his chest indicating life. Raven watched on, not stopping herself from letting his quiet breathing slowly lull her into a peaceful trance. There was always something about this boy that had captivated her senses. As if she were a moth drawn to a flame, she always found herself growing nearer to him whenever he was close by. He brought her a strange sense of tranquility, which she desperately would cling to. It was a nice change in pace, from having to be filled with a constant rage that sat in her belly like a rock. It was part of her demon heritage. Rage spawned violence and she was a weapon made to commit that violence.

Except when she was with him. Ever since their first meeting, she could feel his mere presence alone calm the storm inside of her. He put her demon at ease. She couldn't explain why or describe how, but he did and it because of that he gave her something she had always longed for - _hope_.

"GAHHH!"

Raven jumped out of her skin at the sound of his shout as he quickly shot up from the ground. His head started spinning as he frantically checked his surroundings, his bright emerald eyes wide with fear. He began patting his torso as if he was checking that he had indeed lost his feathers. Raven sat quietly as she caught her own breath, coming down from the surge of adrenaline that had come from his sudden awakening. She had her own hand over her heart as she willed herself to relax, but was caught off guard when his eyes finally fell on her.

"Raven?" He questioned with furrowed brows, his mind racing to catch up. "What happened? Where am I? Where are the others?"

His questions flew out of his one by one as he continued to search his new surroundings. The young girl felt overwhelmed by the onslaught of inquiries, but she mentally repeated her mantra in her head to calm herself.

"You were encased in a net." She began in a small voice. "It was made with electric wire and shocked you into unconsciousness."

The green lad dropped his gaze and carefully rubbed the tips of his fingers over the thin gray wires that laid at his sides and underneath him. Then the wire netting fell from his hand as he brought his gloved appendage up to his head and cradled his forehead.

"Ugh...my head is killing me." He groaned in pain.

"Probably because M'gann had to force you awake. The others are still in battle." She relayed the information in a monotone drawl, purposefully pushing back her emotions in order to keep her powers in check. The truth was she was extremely anxious. Anxious to make sure he was okay. Anxious to get back to their team. But she swallowed down her racing heart and forced herself to remain calm.

Garfield peaked around his hand to meet her large, round amethyst gaze. While he heard very little feeling coming from her voice, he could always see every wave of emotion through the violet sea of her eyes. He didn't think she knew, but her eyes gave away every emotion she tried to hide. It made her an easier book to read than many would have thought upon first glance.

Judging by the worry pooling in her eyes, he knew he should shake off his pounding headache and play it off as alright. He didn't want her to fret over him, especially in the middle of a mission. They were both needed back in the fray and sitting here nursing a headache wouldn't help anyone. He forced himself to drop his hand, then he attempted to push himself up, but as he began to lift himself off the ground his surroundings started to blur and he felt as if the world were spinning out of control. He fell back down on his bottom with a thump and held his head in his hands again, a loud groan escaping his lips. So maybe he wasn't going back to the battle just yet.

He felt a pair of small, grey-ish hands wrap around him, one on his shoulder and the other on his chest, supporting some of his weight. Then he heard her soft mellow voice carry toward him over the sounds of the forest.

"Please, I can take away your pain."

Casting her a sideways glance, he saw the seriousness in her eyes and the slight quiver of her lips. She didn't wait for his answer as she slowly slid her hands up his neck to his cheeks. With a quick reflex, he covered her hands with his, stopping them in their tracks.

"No." He said firmly, but not unkindly. "My pain becomes yours. It's not a fix, it's a trade-off and I'm not willing to make that trade."

His emerald eyes locked with her amethyst gaze and this time neither looked away.

"How many times must I explain my healing abilities to you?" She asked him rhetorically as her brows furrowed and her nose crinkled in frustration. "I take your pain, yes, but then my powers instantly heal it. For a headache, I'll only feel it for a heartbeat." She tried to reason with him, but the stubborn boy only hardened his gaze.

"But you'll feel it and that's not fair." He countered

"It's not a matter of being fair. I want to heal you. You need to be healed. Just _let me_ do so."

They continued their hard stare for a pregnant pause until Gar finally closed his eyes and released her hands. Without another word, Raven snaked her fingers through his thick hair and rested the pads of her thumbs on his temples.

"Azarath, metrion, zinthos." She breathed out her mantra, sounding out every syllable. Her dark eyes became shrouded with a baby blue glow and soon the light traveled to her fingertips. It seeped into the boy's green skin and instinctively he leaned into her cooling touch. Fortunately, he didn't see her slight flinch as she began to feel the same throbbing he had experienced only moments before, but as quick as it had come, it had left, true to her word.

Once she could no longer sense any discomfort from him, the blue-ish glow began to fade and her eyes returned to their normal violet hue. Gar slowly blinked open his eyes as felt her icy healing touch disappear and again their eyes met. Raven's breath hitched under the intensity of his gaze, both remorseful and grateful. She knew he did not approve of her healing, only because of the method she had to use, and while she did not regret what she had done, she loathed the guilt she felt while under his pointed stare.

"Did it hurt?" He finally asked and it was then that she realized she had yet to stop touching him.

"No." She lied as she jerked back her hands as if she had touched a flame. She brought her hands back to her lap and folded them neatly as she dropped her gaze to them. She heard Gar hum and knew by his tone that he did not believe her, but he let the issue be for now.

"Well um…" He began awkwardly and scratched the back of his neck. "Thanks for saving me, I guess."

Raven felt her cheeks warm at his compliment, but she kept her attention on her fingers as she absentmindedly twiddled them. "You would have done the same for me."

She spoke so softly he almost couldn't hear her, but her words made it to his ears and his own blush dusted his face. Another long silence fell between them until Gar worked up the nerve to speak again.

"We should, um, get back to the mission?"

At the mention of the fight happening behind them, Raven's eyes snapped up and she gave him a small nod. Abruptly, she stood back on her feet, her navy blue cloak billowing out behind her. Without a word, she offered her hand to the changeling and after giving it a questioning look, he accepted it. She gave a weak tug, but his push did the rest and soon he was back on his own two feet. She released his hand afterward and he took the opportunity to brush himself off, his uniform dirty and wrinkled from his endeavor.

"Cleaning up for the enemy?" Raven quipped with a slight sound of amusement laced in her voice.

Gar looked up at her with mild surprise at first, then flashed her a toothy grin. "Gotta look aster for my big comeback."

The sorceress rolled her eyes at his slang and began floating off the ground and leaving him behind. "Just don't get yourself killed on my first mission." She deadpanned as she gave him her back.

Suddenly, a flash of green caught the corner of her eye and she heard him call out "no promises," before shifting into a gorilla and swinging through the trees.

As she followed after him, she heard the female voice return to her mind. " _Is he alright?"_

She watched him jump from tree to tree until they reached a squadron of guys with guns and dressed all in black. He flung himself at the nearest man and crushed him under his weight before throwing punches at the other men. " _He is now."_ She replied as she flew in to join him. She surrounded them in a magical, protective shield as the bullets of their enemies began to fly.

" _Always got my back, huh Rae?"_ He sent her through the mind link, his humorous tone evident even in her mind and she could imagine him giving her a wink. Despite his annoying antics, she still remembered seeing his body lying still on the forest floor and the sincere smile he had given her on the day he had freed her from her captives. She owed so much to this reckless jokester that even though his statement was meant to be silly, it was still true. So with a devilish smirk and a spark in her eyes, she extended her arms and pushed her shield out, catching all the bad guys in her wake and sending them either to the ground or slamming them into the trees.

Gar's massive gorilla head spun toward her and his amazement shone through his eyes. She looked down upon him, her smirk never leaving her face as she replied through their link.

" _Always, my friend."_

* * *

 **Please leave a review! Thanks for reading! :D**


End file.
